The Dolau Enterprise Project 2024, supported by NatWest has awarded primary school children from Llanharan as a part of its business enterprise event that seeks to teach children about the basics of business.
In the second year of the programme, children from Dolau Primary School have been encouraged to learn about the world of business through workshops hosted by local business owners and special guests, NatWest. In these classes, children were given the chance to understand more about business basics, ranging from profits and losses to the importance of creating a standout logo.
NatWest were on hand to share some advice as well as providing the children an introduction to how business banking works, to help equip students with the skills needed to develop successful businesses. As Dolua Primary is one of the biggest bilingual Welsh speaking schools in the country, NatWest workshops were supportive of this, catering to children in both English and Welsh languages.
Each class received a £25 investment from a local business owner who would become the class mentor. The students were challenged to apply their newfound knowledge and funding into planning, creating, and selling their own products. With 19 classes and over 500 primary age children, the entire school created an impressive array of innovative products. These included chocolate cones, bucket hats made from recycled materials, self-built websites, AI-generated personalised portraits, and initiatives to become a carbon-conscious digital business. In just a few weeks the children had designed and created their products, achieving an impressive £5000 profit across the school.
Whilst there were a host of high quality entries, ultimately the winner was chosen by the net profit made after the investors were paid back. It was Class 11 who took home the prize after the success of their Cymru Crumbs Welsh cakes project, raising a mighty £625 in profit. The winning class were presented with a trophy by key stakeholders, NatWest, which also offered prizes for other notable products.
Nia Pugh, Deputy Head at Dolau Primary School said: “In the second year of the Dolau Enterprise Project, it has just been fantastic to see the pupils go from strength to strength. It is so important that we keep the next generation engaged in all elements of their learning and this is a great opportunity to develop an authentic and purposeful curriculum which develops vital life skills.
“I’m so proud of each and every pupil that took on this opportunity with real enthusiasm and it is truly rewarding seeing the final products after their continued hard work over these past few weeks. I must say a special congratulations to our winners, we are just so excited to see where they can go in the future.
“We must also say a huge thank you to all of the parents and local business owners whose time and effort made this event such a success. And of course, we extend our gratitude to NatWest who really took the time to give our students an incredible workshop.”
Jessica Shipman, Chair of the Natwest Cymru Regional Board, added: “It is fantastic to see this level of creativity and engagement from children as young as four and five years old, through our workshops and the creation of their business ideas.
“It’s hard to choose a favourite from such an incredible crop, however, Class 11 really stood out as not only a having a fantastic idea, but really taking what they learned in the workshops and implementing that into what was a truly brilliant business model.
“At NatWest, we are committed to helping the next generation of entrepreneurs in Wales to develop the necessary skills and experience needed to be truly successful. From what we have seen in these workshops, there is absolutely no shortage of bright young people with huge potential.”
